Walk Bike on the Georgetown Waterfront

Here We Go Again by M.V. Jantzen

A new sign on the south edge of Georgetown Waterfront Park.

My first thought when I saw this photo was that this sign listed the options one had here. They could walk or they could bike [No running, no roller-blading and certainly no blade running]. They might as well have as sign that says "No Biking" because that's what is really happening here.

Comments

another sign put up by morons following the dictates of their superior morons...

this culture doesnt hate bicycles. but it certainly does not favor or like bicycles.

as usual, as is the case for the idiotic sign on NPS property -- just ignore it...use your JUDGMENT...youre an american, your supposed to follow rules intelligently, not blidly, and if the rules are retarded, undemocratic decrees...then you have an OBLIGATION to disobey them...

I wouldnt get worked up about this. Its for a small area by the water, which is full of kids, tourists, and people just having a nice time. Its as appropriate as the no riding on downtown sidewalks rule. At least last week one of the trails through the park did not have such a sign. And, there is K-St.

Put a bike track on K Street beneath the Whitehurst. That will get your pesky bikes off the shore real fast. At the other end of the shore down river, on the Anacostia, Yards Park and Navy Yard have "no bikes" policies too. So crack open a dedicated bike track on six-lane wide M Street SE. On the other side of the river, another through Old Anacostia to Minnesota Avenue. The good that can come of these mindless signs is if they accelerate the conversion of the nearest parallel routes to dedicated, separated bike tracks.

When it's crowded--i mean really crowded--you're prolly just as unsafe walking your bike (and taking up more space) as riding it. At other times, riding is fine; just go slow and easy and watch out for the kids playing in the fountain.

I think the signs should go (even though I don't own any lycra). Bikes and pedestrians can share spaces. No, it's not a place to race, but there's no reason people can't enjoy a leisurely ride by the waterfront. When it is crowded, cyclists should yield, and when it's not crowded, it would be ridiculous to walk your bike.

The trail by Water St gets a lot of pedestrian traffic, but somehow we manage to share the trail without banning walkers.

Furthermore, the NPS needs to be more transparent about how these decisions are made. I'm still waiting for them to remove those stupid planters from the side of the fountain.

The "Walk Bike" sign was put up for the safety of park users. This Georgetown Waterfront Park is a public park designed to serve a variety of users: walkers, strollers, boaters, picikers, labyrinth users, fountain aficiondos--and bicyclists. For the bicyclists, an asphalt bike path was built parallel to K Street,now with "Bike Path" signs.
Bicyclists darting between older strollers, young children and families on the waterfront path are simply dangerous. Many pedestrians have been injured by bicyclists and, most recently, one was killed by a bicylist on an Arlington path. The Georgetown waterfront path is for peaceful and safe enjoyment of the river and park. Park users should not be constantly fearful of being knocked down by a speeding bicyclists.
Bicycles are not allowed on crowded downtown sidewalks nor should they be on a busy waterfront park path, especially when a bicycle path was designed specifically for bicyclists.
Ann Satterthwaite
Friends of Georgetown
Waterfront Park

Ann, indeed the park was build for a variety of users. That, by your own admission, includes bicyclists. As a cyclist, i use the park once in a while; usually i ride over to the river and have a snack and then go on my way. I've never injured anyone, and no one has ever complained about my behavior. I won't be walking my bike, thank you.

The parallel path you refer to is used primarily as a sidewalk for people walking along K. I find it's usually much more crowded and dangerous to use than the wider promenade by the river. Using it also involves a lot of cross traffic from oblivious pedestrians exiting the park without noting that they're crossing a path.

We're well aware here of the incident in Arlington. Perhaps you can explain how it is in any way relevant? By the way, it was an accident, and no one has found the cyclist at fault.

If injuries have occurred in Georgetown Waterfront Park (i haven't seen any reports of any, but i'll bet there are a lot of skinned knees over by the fountain), i'm sure they might be due to any number of causes, including even the occasional incautious cyclist. In that case, a sign reading "Cyclists use caution" might be appropriate. But cyclists in the D.C. area travel quite literally millions of miles per year. Yet, somehow, pedestrians hardly ever get killed, and even collisions are very rare. I suspect that in Georgetown Waterfront Park, the skateboarders and joggers with headphones, not to mention some of the children playing without responsible adult supervision, pose a greater risk to pedestrians than the cyclists. Perhaps signs reading "Children: no horseplay" and "No running" would be appropriate?

Or you could just make the best of it, and pay attention to your environment, like some of us do. It's a park, not a sandbox.